Close Enemies
by MaiKujakufan
Summary: Just because two people are twins doesn't mean they understand each other and it certainly doesn't stop them from joining two different teams while trying to achieve two different dreams. But what does love have to do with it? HaoXOc HoroHoroXOc
1. Anger

Mai: I thought of this a few months ago and I finally got around to writing. Anyway to fans of Do you Remember Me and Unloved I won't be updating those for a while. My computer had a melt down and had to be sent to the computer hospital. So I might get my documents back and I might not. I almost had the next chapters finished and I really don't want to proceed until I know if I can get them back or not. Anyway I hope you like this. Also I don't know a lot about Tao Ran so if I made her OOC I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: Until I takeover the world and proclaim myself the Supreme Ruler of Canada I don't own Shaman King or Canada. I do own the first seven volumes of the Inu Yasha manga. I love Inu Yasha!

Chapter 1: Anger

_Shaman Queen. _Those two words echoed in my head over and over again as I punched and kicked the sack with pointless aggression. I was going to win the title for myself and have my proper revenge. My revenge on the stupid narrow-minded humans who cast me out.

Before the accident I had lots of friends, and even a couple dozen boys chasing after me. I entered the last year if Junior High feeling like I was on top of the world. Sure my grades could have been a little better but I passed and that was all that mattered. I was popular so grades didn't really seem that important to me.

Then in one horrifying afternoon everything changed. I was attacked by these strange creatures. I managed to escape them, the friends I was walking home with apparently couldn't see them so they walked right into their trap and were killed.

After that nobody would talk to me. After I told the police my crazy sounding story about the monsters everyone turned on me. They were convinced that whatever had happened to my friends had driven me insane. As if that wasn't bad enough some people even thought that I had murdered them and was covering it all up. Either way none of them associated with me ever again.

That was when I realized that humans were stupid selfish creautures who cared only about the shallow aspects of a person and who could turn on anyone in an instant if given half the chance.

I was truly alone for the first time in my life and I hated it. At least until she rescued me.

Her name was Tao Ran. She came to town on some sort of business trip. We met in an alleyway where she saved me from being mugged and possibly raped by some sicko. She could tell that I was a Shaman who hadn't learned about my powers yet. So she took me back to China with her as her student.

There she taught me to be Dao-shi and control corpse puppets. She told me about a tournament coming up where I could win the chance for my revenge. I could kill all the evil humans and purify their race.

Now here I was about to leave for Arizona in two days time for the second round of the tournament and I was wasting my time beating the hell out of a stupid punching bag.

"Trying to take out your feelings in a totally unproductive way again," Taki my jang-si said from the doorway. "And I thought Lady Ran taught you better than that." Of all the things Ran did for me Takiko or Taki for short was the best. Ran had gotten away with giving me Taki because unlike most Jang-si Taki could still think and feel so she was of no use to the Tao family.

"Shut up Taki it makes me feel better," I said kicking the bag again. "Besides it is too useful if keeps me in shape."

"Honestly Terra you work out too much. Now if you were a normal shaman who had to use a ghost and an oversoul to fight it might make sense. But you're Dao-shi as long as you're not fat you're in good condition. As for making you feel better it's been two years you should have control over your anger by now. Save it for when you win."

I just ignored her and kicked the again and again getting harder with each swing of my leg until…SMASH the bag split open under force of my kick. I just stood there panting and feeling angry.

"Terra that's the third one this week," Taki said annoyed.

"Shut up Taki. Just get me another one," I ordered forcefully. She just walked over to a closet and pulled out another punching bag from a closet full of them and placed it in position.

I started to punch and kick again and again.


	2. Darkness

Mai: Hey here's chapter 2. This one just sort of wrote itself. I honestly think that so far this is the best fic I've ever written. I had a pretty crappy day today. So it was nice to just kick back and write down what was on my mind. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King or Canada but my time will come! One day I will own them both! And I will force them to make another season in which Ren gets a girlfriend! cough cough Umi or Yuki cough cough and the rest of the gang meets my fabulous ocs Terra and Mirelle. But until then I'm stuck just writing fanfictions about it. On the bright side I do own the first 9 volumes of the Fushigi Yugi manga. I love Fushigi Yugi! But why did Nuriko have to die? He was my favorite character! I dedicate this to Nuriko's memory! Now I think I've rambled on long enough with my disclaimer. On with the show!

Chapter 2: Darkness

When I was younger I used to envy my twin sister. Although she was a few minutes younger than me she always seemed to grasp one thing better than I did: social interaction.

She had so many friends and admirers. Everyone seemed to like her. I had a few good trustworthy friends but no one admired me. Well except the non-popular flunkouts. But they didn't count because they only liked my grades nothing more.

Then it happened. I always thought that day was like fate was testing us to see who would hold up. We were both attacked and we both lost the friends we were with at the time.

She failed the test miserably. She became a loner and an outcast. She seemed to hate everyone in the world because she was so lonely. My attempts to help her went unnoticed. Then she ran off with some crazy lady to China and straightened herself out. I like to think of it as fate's retest. Although I'm not sure if she passed this time or if she just received better tools for her anger.

I guess I had a bit of an advantage. The friend that was killed when I was attacked happened to be a shaman who could explain everything to me. I also didn't give the police some crazy story because my friend's family was able to make it look like a car accident.

I also had less to lose. She had a bunch of friends and when they all turned on her it definitely left a mark. Even if I had lost my friends it wouldn't have been such a big deal because I knew how to handle being alone.

Of course the attack was not without it's side effects. The attack left me in the dark. In other words I was now blind. The friend who had passed away, Ami stayed behind in this world as a ghost and she helped me a lot. So did my other friends but I guess I never really got used to the darkness.

My only hope was a tournament coming up where I could win the chance to restore my eyesight. I started to train like a maniac obsessed with nothing but making sure I won. What I didn't tell anyone though, not even Ami, was that I also secretly hoped to help my sister too. Her anger was destructive and god only knew what it could do.

Two years after the accident the tournament started. The first round was surprisingly easy. You'd be surprised how many people let their guard down when they see a that their opponent is a fifteen year old blind girl, even if said blind girl has a powerful ghost like Ayano.

Ayano had been Ami's guardian ghost before she was killed so now both Ami and Ayano were my guardian ghosts. Ayano did most of the power work like oversouls and fighting while Ami oversouled into a pair of earings I always wore and acted as my eyes.

It was when I left for Arizona and the second round that my real journey began. That was also when I realized that I hadn't done so well on fate's test after all.


	3. Anger meets Anger

Mai: Hey I got yet another chapter out! I'm on a roll! I'm pleased to say I'm feeling a lot happier today!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King or Canada yet. But I will! But I do own all the Tokyo Mew Mew manga volumes including the new Mew Mew a la Mode ones. I love the Mew Mew girls they're so funny! Anyway on with the show.

Chapter 3: Anger Meets Anger

I sat by the fire sharpening the small knife I always carried around with me. Taki was standing guard her long black braid shining in the firelight that also illuminated the dark purple lines painted on her face like strange birthmarks.

I was thinking about humans again that always made me space out and focus on my rage. It was a good way to get focused before a fight. I usually did it at not just in case I had to fight in the morning.

"Intruder," Taki barked reaching for her sword.

"Relax, jang-si I mean no harm," said a calm male voice. Then he stepped into the firelight. He was odd looking but in a good way. He had long slightly feminine dark brown hair and dark eyes. He wore a beige poncho, slightly baggy pants decorated over decorated with stars, and large earrings with stars on them. I would have though he was a girl if I hadn't heard him speak.

"What do you want?" Taki growled her dark grey blue eyes showing deep distrust of the stranger.

"Just to talk to your friend," he told her politely.

"Not on my watch you ain't!" she said pulling out her sword with a form of agility not usually displayed to the general public.

"Oh come on Taki he just wants to talk and you'll be right there in case he tries anything," I said before Taki could actually hurt the guy. Grudgingly Taki lowered her sword and let the boy pass.

"Thanks," he said sitting down next to me, "I'd hate to have had to hurt her just so I could talk to you."

"As if you could!" Taki shouted at him hotly.

"Calm down Taki," I barked. "Now what did you want to say to me?"

"My name is Hao Asakura and I will be the next Shaman King."

"You'll have to go through me first," I told him with a chuckle.

"We'll see about that. Now I have a proposition to make. I-"

"I'm not interested in helping you in anyway," I told him sharply, "I work for me and my goals, no else's."

"Not even if I could help you destroy humans?" he asked his eyes shining in a way that almost made me feel like he was laughing at me on the inside.

"How did you-" I cut myself off. "Never mind you've got my attention. Now talk, Asakura."


	4. Darkness meets Light

Mai: Hey it's me again back with another great chapter of Close Enemies. Interesting fact about this fic. When I first published it I spent like 30 minutes trying to think up a name until my eyes fell on my copy of the 7th volume of Inu Yasha which was lying back up on my bed. The volume discription of the volume was headed Close Enemies 'cause it was about Sesshomaru and Inu Yasha and that's where I got the title. So let's all give three cheers for Inu Yasha! I just felt like sharing that today.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or Canada yet so in the mean time I will have to make due with the first three volumes of the Ceres manga! I love Ceres it's so cool. Although I think that Aya should just dump Toya and go out with Yuhi. I mean Yuhi's funnier and cooler and definitely more dedicated than Toya. Plus she knows almost nothing about Toya and I like Yuhi better. Oh well. This is chapter is dedicated to you Yuhi! May Aya realize that you are the right one for her soon! I mean even Ceres seems to like you and she hates everyone! So good luck! Now I've stalled long enough and I must get on with the story!

Chapter 4: Darkness meets Light

I sat there in dark thinking about my life. The irony was that it was the middle of the day. But my eyes don't see daylight now do they? I can feel the warmth of the sun, and hear the sounds of the day but I can't see it. Maybe I'll never be able to see it ever again.

_No,_ I scolded myself, _I will win! I will see again! _That's when I heard the footsteps coming closer and closer.

"Who's there?" I asked sharply as the footsteps got within a few feet of me.

"Whoa dude how'd she do that?" a shocked male voice asked. The voice was rough, and sort of stupid sounding as if the owner wasn't all that smart but at the same time below that I could hear a layer of caring and loyalty that wasn't often shown to the public.

One of the few good things about being blind is that it sharpens your other senses. When I could see I used to be able to use people's appearances to deduce some rough conclusions about them. When I went blind that ability slowly transferred to my hearing and strengthened. Now I could tell a lot more just by hearing someone's voice just once. Anyway I decided that liked this voice a great deal.

"Hi! I'm Yoh Asakura!" a new boy's voice said. This voice was lazy almost carefree at first impression but if you took a second you could hear a fierce and burning dedication. I liked this voice too but not in the same way that I liked the first one. I had never liked anyone like I liked that voice and it's owner and to be honest it kind of scarred me.

"I'm Mirelle," I told him standing up. When I turned around I heard the first voice gasp. "Do you have a problem?" I asked ticked off.

"Dude, why are your eyes so blank?" the first voice asked shocked tone. This hit me where it hurt emotionally. It was bad enough that I was blind but having to hear about how my eyes looked really hurt. The tears were starting to well up in my eyes when I heard the voice say in a kinder and gentler tone that you could hardly distinguish as the same voice, "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok. It's just that I don't really like being reminded that I'm blind in that rude and abrupt way," I told him. This time he remained speechless. He had probably never met a disabled person before so he didn't know how to react.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. Its grip was soft and comforting. "I'm Horo-Horo Usui," the rude voice said from somewhere near my ear. After that the other boys, Ryu, Ren, and Chocolove, introduced themselves.

"Hey Mirelle! Thanks for the food it's really great!" Yoh told me a while later after I had decided to have dinner with them.

"Your Welcome," I told him.

"Hey I was wondering if you'd like to come with us to Patch Village," Yoh asked me.

"Sure, I guess you guys know what you're doing and I could use some company other than Ami and Ayano," I told him.

"Good 'cause Horo-Horo really wants you to come," he said then he stood back up and went back over to his friends, leaving me to think.

_Does Horo-Horo like me?_


	5. Anger and Fire: The Makings of Hell

Mai: I'm really sorry but when I posted chapter five I accidentally posted my whole story over. So now I'm reposting chapter 5 with just chapter five in it. Anyway Happy Rosh Hashanah to those of you who are Jewish and on with the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King, Canada, or Inu Yasha yet. On the bright side though I do own the first eight volumes off the Inu Yasha manga. Oh Inu Yasha I love your eyes I just want to steal them away. I dedicate this chapter to Inu Yasha's amazing eyes!

Chapter 5: Anger and Fire: The Makings of Hell

"Hey Hao, you know how you made those rules when I joined up with you yesterday?" Terra asked me sweetly on the morning of her second day in my camp.

"Yeah?" I answered suspiciously. Although I had only known her a day I could already tell that she's not the kind of person who uses that kind of tone unless she's about to drop bad news or orders on someone.

"Well I decided that I didn't like them so I made up my own," she told me her voice suddenly becoming loud and commanding. "Number 1: I work with you not for you. Number 2: I refuse to call you Hao-sama ever. Number 3: You and your followers will show me respect or else! Number 4: If you ever touch my stuff you die! Number 5: If you don't like any of those rules deal with it!"

The whole camp was staring at her now as if they had just seen a ghost. I was shocked. No one had ever talked to me like that before. I was Hao Asakura for crying out loud. The most powerful shaman ever to exist and the future ruler of the world!

"Nobody talks to me like that," I told her in a threatening voice that I usually use on my followers when they mess up.

"Well I just did. So I guess some people do talk to you like that. Or am I not a real person all of a sudden?" No matter how angry I was I had to admit that this girl was good.

Anyway back to the anger. I felt my hands start to ball into fists and the fire start to form in my hands. I was going to get her good! Or so I thought.

"Oh save the fireworks show for someone who's actually scared of it," she told me in a semi-bored tone.

"How the hell did you know what I was going to do?" I asked her dumbfounded. She gave a small laugh when she saw my face. When she stopped she was still grinning like a maniac. It looked odd on her face. The blood red hair, dark make up, and dark clothes just didn't look right with a look of cheerfulness.

"Well last night figured out that you can use your furyouku (sp?) to read minds. So I watched you and observed how you did it, then myself how to read minds and even access memories. And I've been practicing on you and your followers." This left me dumbfounded. No one had ever been able to pick up my mind reading trick before. In fact it had taken a lifetime and a half to invent that trick.

From then on everyone pretty much did what she told them to. I immediately started to plan revenge something big, and flashy that would put that little terminally depressed bitch in her place.

The trouble for me was that she kept catching me at it. My mind always gives off a slightly more noticeable consciousness because of my high furyouku level.

"God damn it, woman!" I yelled at her after she thwarted my seventh revenge attempt and ended up setting my tent on fire instead of the other way around. So what if I was able to put it out in two seconds the point is it was still my tent on fire and not hers. "Stop reading my god damn mind!"

"No, I like reading minds. Besides you do it all the time, so why is it any different when I do it?" she asked. Now this really ticks me off. When I give orders I expect them to be followed. Though this disrespectful girl was an interesting experience and despite myself I had to admit that I kind of liked her. I also couldn't help but admit that she had a strange sort of hot gothic beauty to her.

"Because I am the future king of world and you are not."

"You're right..."

"Thank you!"

"…I'm the future queen of the world!"

"WHAT!" I yelled after she finished her sentence.

"You heard me. I am going to win the tournament purify the human race," she shot back at me.

"No you aren't. I am going to win and kill the humans!" I yelled.

"No I am going to kill off the evil humans and give the few deserving humans shamanic powers and place in my new world!" she countered back. From that point on I figured the yelling could only get worse and I was right. If there is anything that pushes my buttons it's the mention of letting humans live.

"No filthy human will be given shamanic powers in my world!"

"I'm not letting just any filthy human into my world only the ones who truly deserve it!"

"No human deserves forgiveness! They hate, they cheat, they lie, they steal, and they turn against anyone who dares to be different even if that person tries to help them!"

"My parents were two of those "filthy" humans you keep going on about and they have never persecuted anyone! Not my sister for being blind! Not me for being depressed and angry all the time! And certainly not either of us for being shamans!"

When she finished I stood there shocked. To my surprise there was a small tear sliding down her face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," was all I could manage to say.

"No you didn't. Why do you think I wear so much black!" she yelled before she stormed off leaving me to stand there open mouthed. I noticed that she said "were" when she was talking about her parents, not "are".

_Did something happen to her parents? And if her parents are humans why does she have shamanic powers?_ I wondered to myself.

Mai: I just wanted to say that last night I saw this great episode of Inu Yasha. It was about Kagome running back to her own world after seeing Inu Yasha swear to Kikyo that he would protect her. Once back in her own world she doesn't even have the emotional strength to go back and return the shikon jewel shards. But then she visits the spot where she first met Inu Yasha and she realizes that she loves him so she goes back to his world. Then when she sees him she gives this whole speech about how she and Kikyo are connected through their desire to be with Inu Yasha and how she wants to stay by him no matter what. It was great she was basically telling him that she loved him and that she'd always be by his side even if he didn't love her. I just thought I'd share that even though it was completely random. Well please review! 


	6. Light, Darkness, and Ramen!

Mai: Ok so I finally realized after god knows how long that chapter 6 was the whole story up to chapter 6 and not just chapter 6. So I'm fixing that now. Sorry about the mistake. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King. If I did it'd be a lot more romantic and Tamao's annoying spirit thingies would be cuter.

Chapter 6: Darkness, Light, and Ramen!

"Morning," I muttered sleepily as I stumbled into the middle of the camp still half asleep. Mirelle must have jumped at least a mile. She was the only one not asleep in her sleeping bag. It was funny though you'd think that she'd have heard me coming. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you," I told her apologetically.

"It's ok," she said, "I was lost in thought so I didn't hear you coming."

I smiled at her. I knew from the first time I saw her that she was special. I mean she's beautiful, dedicated, and brave. She kind of makes me wonder what's wrong with me. But she always seems to go off by herself and doesn't often socialize with the rest of us.

"Hey, uh do you want something to eat?" I asked picking up the food pack.

"Oh sure," she said absent-mindedly. "What do we have?"

"How about some ramen?" I offered taking out the ramen. (A.N.: I was reading Naruto just before I wrote this so I decided that Naruto's funny little ramen quirk should somehow manifest itself in my story. For all you Naruto fans out there you know what I'm talking about.)

Suddenly she suddenly perked up and she suddenly seemed more excited than I had ever seen her before. "Did you say ramen?" she asked sounding somewhat like a little kid on Christmas.

"Uh yeah," I said taken aback. This was a totally new side to the quiet withdrawn Mirelle I was used to.

"I should warn you, she has a bit of a ramen obsession," Ami said popping out of thin air with a huge anime sweat drop forming on her head. "It's kind of embarrassing to tell you the truth. Just the word "ramen" can distract her from almost anything."

"Hey there is nothing wrong with liking ramen," she told Ami defensively.

"Yeah there's nothing wrong with liking it, but when people have to start hiding it from you just to keep you from eating two dozen bowls and throwing up all over the house then you've got a problem," Ayano said joining in the fight.

"Hey that was one time!" Mirelle shot back. "This isn't fair you guys shouldn't gang up on me!" By now I was the one with the huge anime sweat drop on the back of my head.

"Um, do you want the ramen or not?" I asked interrupting what was sure to become a heated and pointless argument. Actually it kind of reminded of the arguments that go on, between me, Ren, and Chocolove. It was funny since Mirelle had started to break those up for us lately. Man this felt weird.

"Sure," she said cheerfully abandoning the fight.

"Wow, who knew you could eat so much," I said after she cleaned up three quarters of the very large portion of ramen I made for the two of us. She blushed embarrassed.

"I can't control myself around ramen," she muttered blushing.

"It's ok," I told her, "I can't control myself around food most of the time." This made her smile and I felt happy. I love her smile it's so sweet and sincere. Plus since she doesn't use it that often it's all the more special.

"I'm really glad Yoh asked me to join you guys," she told me. "It was kind of a hard decision for me but I'm glad I chose to come. To tell you the truth I was kind of missing my friends back home but now I have some new friends to rely on. And I know you won't ever let me down." This touched me. No one had ever said something so nice to me.

"I'm glad you decided to join us too," I told her. She just smiled. I wanted to stay like that with her forever. But we were soon interrupted by everyone else waking up and she became distant again.


	7. Fire Fuels Anger

Mai: ok here's another chapter of Close Enemies. Now as I sat down and wrote this I started to think about what to rant about this time because let's face it ranting is fun even if no one reads it. Then it hit me I should just type out whatever I feel like typing for a few minutes. I think this chapter is pretty good. An interesting fact is that when I first started to write this story Mirelle didn't have a sister. Then I thought to myself that it needed something and then I started thinking on inserting another oc so that it wasn't just Mirelle and Horo fluff all the time and that's how Terra was born. It took me a while to put Terra together though but I must say that I am pleased with how she turned out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King (although it's only a matter of time), Canada (also only a matter of time), or Ranma ½ (I love Ranma he's so funny! I've only read the first three volumes of the manga though but I still love it!)

Chapter 7: Fire Fuels Anger

"Hi Hao," I said to the approaching shaman. I smiled imagining the pissed off look that must be creeping over his face at this very moment.

"GOD DAMN IT! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STOP READING MINDS!" he yelled. The whole mind reading thing was really getting to him. He really wasn't used to living with someone who didn't worship him and I personally thought it was good for him.

"Now I see how stopping my mind reading activities benefits you but how does it benefit me?" I told him playfully. "By the way isn't there something you wanted to ask me?" I waited for the boom. The thing he hated most about my mind reading was when I picked up on what he wanted before he could ask me.

"THERE YOU GO AGAIN WITH THE GOD DAMN MIND READING!" he exploded.

"Fine while you're ranting about how much you hate me I'll be off taking care of your brother's friends like you want me to," I told him getting up.

"You're actually doing what I want you to?" he asked suspiciously. "You never do what I tell you to."

"Well this is a matter of survival, before your commands were stupid personal preferences that didn't really matter. I teamed up with you to help myself win the crown not to play servant to an arrogant jerk like you," I told him.

"You know what. I don't want to argue right now just go kill my brother's friends," he said surprisingly calm for once. "Stupid bitch," I heard him mutter as I walked away.

I went back to my tent where I pulled up my blood red hair, reapplied my dark make up, and put on a slightly tight black top and a long black skirt. Satisfied with my appearance I exited the tent and called Taki.

I had changed a lot since the attack, the superficial popular idiot Terra was gone and in her place was a new smarter and unhappy Terra. One thing hadn't changed though: I still deeply cared about my appearance no matter how much I tried to hide. Though now my aim was to look like a hot goth and not a sluty superficial idiot.

It wasn't exactly hard to locate Hao's brother and his friends. For one thing they were really loud, I'm surprised that people in China couldn't hear them.

I mean they just fight like twenty four seven. I decided to check them out before attacking them just in case there was anyone in their group that I didn't want to attack. So I watched them for a few hours.

It turned out that my sister had somehow gravitated towards their little group. How typical. She always did have a weak sense of judgment. I thought the older twin was supposed to be the smart one. Had she truly been smart she would have joined up Hao no matter how much of a spoiled bastard he was.

My sister however wasn't the only person in the group that interested me. It turns out that Ran's son was traveling with Yoh Asakura.

"And he seemed so smart," I told Taki. I sighed, attacking my sister was nothing, I didn't owe her anything but Ran had helped me and taught me everything I knew. How could I pay her back by trying to kill her son? "We're going Taki."

"WHAT?" Taki said, "But you said this was important. Why are you backing out now?"

"That's Ran's son," I said pointing to the boy.

"Oh. Hao's not going to like this," she said.

"Since when do I care what he thinks?"

Sure enough Hao went ballistic. He yelled, he burned things, he threatened my life, but I didn't care I just told him that I could not attack the son of the woman who had helped me so much and that was that.

"HAO!" I yelled after I finally couldn't take the abuse anymore. "I'm not going to attack Ran's son for your stupid little mind game with your brother! Now leave me alone!"

"But-" he started pathetically.

"I don't care! Now shut up and leave me alone or god help me I will burn down that fucking tent of yours!" I yelled pissed off. Now a normal human being (like the rest of his followers) would have noticed that it was now a good time to get away from the emotionally crazy and harassed girl. But Hao is what most people would call mentally challenged so he just didn't get it.

"Yeah right like you could set my tent on fire," he challenged coolly.

"I didn't seem to have any trouble last time," I said pissed.

"Yeah well last time you simply redirected my attack on your tent back to my tent. You can't generate fire out of midair," he said confidently.

"That's the same thing you said about the mind reading."

"That's a trick that anyone with enough furyoku could do. The fire comes from Spirit of Fire and I seriously doubt that you can copy Spirit of Fire. Plus even if you did set my tent on fire I could put it out in like two seconds," he boasted confidently.

"You just won't give up will you," I said twitching with pent up rage.

"Nope!" he said in a cutesy little annoying tone that made me twitch even more.

"Well then there's only one way to deal with this. Taki I believe you know what to do."

"I sure do," Taki said grinning evilly and taking out her nice sharp sword.

"Hey, what are you doing," Hao said scared as he began to back away from the cackling and slightly crazed looking jang-si. I entered my tent and sighed contentedly as I lay down on my bed to the sound of Hao's screams of terror.


	8. Love in the Dark

Mai: Ok this chapter isn't very good. It's just a short little fluffy chapter about Horo-Horo and Mirelle. I wrote this pretty much because I wanted to update but I couldn't think of anything else that could happen so I decided to write a sweet little fluff piece to give the relationship a little push. Anyway Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah!

Disclaimer: If I owned Shaman King would I be posting this on fanfiction? No I would be out changing the show to revolve around my characters. So as you can see no matter how much I wish I owned Shaman King I don't.

Chapter 8: Love in the Dark

"Hey Mirelle! We're almost to Patch village!" Horo-Horo told me happily.

"That's great," I said smiling. Then I noticed that in his excitement he had grabbed my hand. I liked his hand it felt nice, kind of strong and comforting. I felt a light blush spread across my face. He must have seen it because a second later his hand withdrew from mine.

"I-I t-think Ren's c-calling me," he stammered then I heard the sound of his retreating footsteps. He had sounded so nervous and flustered it was kind of cute.

"You like him, don't you?" Ami asked popping up right behind me.

"What gives you that idea?" I said calmly. Even if he did like me I wasn't ready for him yet. I needed to concentrate on regaining my sight then I could look for boys.

"You were totally blushing when he took your hand and you're still blushing now," she said. Damn it she had me cornered.

"So what if I do? I don't have time to start anything right now. I need to concentrate," I told her. "If he likes me he'll have to start it himself."

"Fine be that way," Ami said. "But I'm telling you he's a great guy and you two would be totally great together."

"That's your opinion."

While we were walking I thought about the events of that morning. True I did like Horo but did he like me? Obviously he did judging by how he grabbed my hand and his shaky nervous voice but was he going to do anything about it?

"Yoh when did you know that you liked Anna?" I heard Horo ask Yoh from behind me. It was funny how they must think I couldn't hear them.

"Well after a few days of her living in the house and bossing me around I started to notice that I didn't mind doing stuff for her so much. Then I started to notice how truly beautiful she really is and how she's good person to talk to when she's not angry or bossing me around. Finally the night before we left I kissed Anna and I swear there were these fireworks and I just knew that I was in love. I just know she feels the same way too even though we've never said it because she could have any guy at all yet she chose me," Yoh said happily. That was sweet I had often heard them talking about his holy terror itako fiancée but I could have never guessed that he truly felt that way about her.

"Why'd you ask?" Yoh asked Horo casually. I had hand it to Yoh the guy really had a handle on how to get people to tell him things.

"Well…promise you won't tell anyone?" Horo said sounding kind of embarrassed.

"Secrets safe with me," Yoh said reassuringly.

"Well I think I'm in love…. with Mirelle," Horo said shyly. My heart skipped a beat. Did he really mean that? "She just makes me feel so happy and sweet when I'm around her. And I like talking to her and doing things for her. And when she smiles I feel like it's the most amazing thing in the world."

"Yup you've got it bad," Yoh told him with a little chuckle. "Trust me it gets easier after the first kiss."

"How so?"

"Well when you kiss her the way she kisses back can tell you a lot. It's hard to explain and I've only ever kissed Anna so I'm not quite sure on the details but trust me if she likes you you'll know," Yoh told his lovestruck friend.

I could feel myself blushing. Horo-Horo was really in love with me. I liked him but did I love him? If he tried to kiss me what would happen? I'd probably end up panicking. Finally I decided not to think about that anymore and just focus on the task of getting to Patch Village.


	9. The Kiss of Life

Mai: Well here's another great chapter of Close Enemies. Once again I was bored and I didn't know what to write so I decided that it was time for a tiny bit of HaoXTerra fluff. But don't think that means that the fighting is over for these two they have a lot of anger that has yet to burn out. Anyway this chapter is short and I really don't think that it's my best work but then again I say that about almost all of my work. Anyway enjoy, rate, tell me how that you love it even if you don't. Just kidding be honest but remember please be honest in a way that doesn't put me off fanfiction writing for life. Enough rambling and on with the show.

Disclaimer: No matter how many times I ask Hiroyuki Takei won't give me Shaman King he won't even give Ren and none of my pathetic groveling is going to change that. So leave me alone!

Chapter 9: The Kiss of Life

As soon as I got away from Terra's crazed homicidal jang-si I decided that I had better make peace with Terra before I got killed. This would mean that I would probably have to swallow my pride and apologize; two things that I will never be any good at.

Then I thought about it again and decided that since groveling (and I had a feeling that anything less just wasn't going to cut it) really isn't my strong point I would try seducing her.

"Terra," I called softly as I approached her tent. She opened the tent flap and looked around for a couple of seconds until she spotted me.

"Oh it's you," she said. "What do you want, Hao? I already called off Taki so you don't have to look so scared." Now normally I would have yelled and tried to kill her but I figured that would probably make her set the mad jang-si on me so I should try the nice way for once.

"Can I come in?" I asked forcing myself to be polite.

"What?" she asked sounding somewhat shocked at my polite tone.

"I asked if I could come in," I repeated trying really really hard not to let her insolent tone get to me.

"Ok who are you and what have you done with the real Hao?" she asked crossing her arms in a cute way.

_Wait a minute did I just think that she did something cute? No that little goth witch is incapable of ever doing anything even remotely cute,_ I mentally slapped myself.

"So are you going to let me in or not?" I said allowing myself to sound a little annoyed.

"Fine no need to get so worked up about it," she said standing aside to let me enter. "So is there any particular reason you're here or do you just feel like making a nuisance of yourself as usual?"

"I don't really know, I just felt like talking to you," I told her surprised at how sincere I managed to sound.

"Just my luck," she muttered sarcastically. I decided to ignore that remark before I found myself yelling and throwing fire again. "I suppose telling you to leave won't work will it?"

"Probably not," I told her smiling. "I'm pretty annoying that way." After I said that she looked at me in a funny way almost like she was enjoying my smile.

"Well I guess I should make the most of this moment because I doubt I'll ever see this side of you again. You don't strike me as someone who would get hooked on drugs," she said.

"Hey wait a minute who said I was on drugs!" I said hotly forgetting to keep my cool.

"Ah now that's the Hao I know and despise." She laughed and I found it almost enchanting. I mentally kicked myself while to remind myself that I wasn't supposed to actually have feelings for her I was just supposed to change her feelings towards me to calm her down.

"I just can't seem to do anything right with you, can I?" I told her jokingly before taking a step forward so that I was a little closer to her.

"Well I'm just giving you what a hotheaded bastard like you deserves," she said turning her back to me.

This gave me an idea. I snuck up behind her and whispered in her ear, "And what exactly do I deserve."

"Sarcasm and a good kick," she said giving me a good push. I took a deep breath. What I was about to do would either save me or finally drive her to kill me. I grabbed her retreating hand and pulled her back towards me before leaning in kissing her on the lips. The kiss was short, sweet, and despite myself I was able to recognize it as the best kiss I had ever had in all my life times.

After what seemed like an eternity I pulled away and left the tent. I lingered outside the door after she thought I was gone and I heard her whisper, "It didn't mean anything it was just a trick."

It didn't sound like she did a very good job convincing herself


	10. Patiance

Mai: Ok here's chapter 10. Ok this story is in a very fluffy area so once again this chapter will be mostly fluff, but it's important fluff later on it will serve a purpose. I'm just not quite sure what that purpose is. I think the thing I love about writing this fic is that for once I don't know exactly where it's going. Usually I have a pretty good ending mapped out but with this one I only have a few vague ideas and the couplings, although I am still debating about the side couplings. Anyway enough of me rambling on and on about my writing, people read this for the story and not my random tangents or at least I hope so. Although it would be nice if someone liked both. Oh there I go again. Please enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Look if I owned Shaman King Terra and Mirelle would be real characters in the show and whoever came up with the idea to dub Hao as Zeke would be burning in the fiery flame pits that I would give Hao just to torture that guy.

Chapter 10: Patience

I laid down in my sleeping bag staring up at the stars thinking about all that had happened that day. I found myself lingering over holding Mirelle's hand and my talk with Yoh.

_Well I think I'm in love….with Mirelle, _my words echoed over and over again in my head. I hadn't even realized that felt that strongly for her until I said it myself. But was it really love? I had never been in love before so it was hard to tell.

I thought about Yoh's description of how he noticed that he was in love with Anna. I tried to match the symptoms.

I liked to spend time with Mirelle and I liked doing things for her. Yoh had also said that he noticed how beautiful and nice to talk to Anna was well I thought Mirelle was the prettiest girl I knew and I felt like I could really confide in her. According to Yoh a kiss would be the one sure way to clear up all my doubts.

_Well I definitely have feelings for her so if I told her I could probably get that kiss,_ I thought. The thought of kissing Mirelle seemed almost too wonderful for words. I decided to tell her in the morning. And with that comforting thought I allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

"Horo-Horo," I heard Mirelle calling from a distance. "Horo wake up." Slowly I started to regain consciousness.

"Oh let me do it," an angry voice said. "GET UP NOW! BAKA!" Ren Tao in my ear. I shot up angry and ready to cut him to pieces only to find him smirking.

"He's up," Ren said smugly, "no need to thank me." I scowled at him as he walked away.

"Sorry about that," Mirelle muttered. "Waking you up was proving a bit difficult so Ren just sort of helped."

"It's ok," I told her grinning. "I really did need to get up or else I'd only slow us down. Look Mirelle can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I think I hear Yoh calling me," she said quickly. She walked away as fast as she could, blushing furiously. We both knew that Yoh wasn't really calling her. She just wanted to get away from me, but why? Did I do something wrong? Did she somehow know how I felt about her but not want hurt me by saying she didn't feel the same?

I sighed. _Why do girls have to be so complicated?_ I asked myself.

Whatever her deal was I decided to respect it and give her some space. So I wait for a minute or two before stumbling after her to where everyone else was sitting having breakfast.

"Hey Horo!" Yoh greeted me in his usual lazy good-natured manner. As usual Chocolove had the great honor of being the first thing that severely pissed Ren off. I could hear screams of terror so I assumed Ren was chasing Chocolove again. And Ryu was just kind of sulking in the corner.

Then I saw Mirelle eating quietly and listening to something that Yoh was saying. I noticed that she was still blushing fiercely.

"What's up?" I asked Yoh and Mirelle sitting down next Mirelle. Mirelle quickly made some excuse about saving Chocolove from Ren and ran off.

"Is it just me or is she avoiding me?" I asked Yoh. Yoh frowned briefly for a second; it was one of the few times I've seen his carefree smile falter even for a second. He seemed to be deciding how to tell me something.

"Well, I think she's just confused. She told me that she overheard us talking and the part where you said that you loved her kind of freaked her out a bit. She didn't tell me anything else but I think she likes you a lot but she doesn't know if she can love you like you love her and I don't think she's ever been in a real relationship before and the thought of the depth of your feelings kind of scares her." When Yoh finished I looked at him speechless.

"How do you know so much about girls?" I asked him amazed.

"Anna's always watching those soap operas and since she refuses to watch anything else I guess I just kind of picked up a few things in between training programs and chores," he said grinning.

"What do you think I should do?" I asked Yoh embracing his weirdly acquired knowledge.

"Well just try to act normal and whatever you do don't mention love until you think she can handle it. Maybe you should ask her out when we get to Patch Village. Nothing major just dinner or a movie or something."

"Thanks Yoh," I said standing up.

"Anytime," he grinned. "I'm sure it'll work out. Trust me, she definitely likes you."

"Good," I said smiling as I headed off to start winning over


	11. Phase 1

Mai: Hey I'm really sorry that I haven't updated since January but my writers block just got really bad and I couldn't decide exactly where to go with it. Anyway today is the one year anniversary of the day I first posted this fic. So as a birthday present to Mirelle and Terra everyone has to review. Because reviews love and Terra and Mirelle need some of that because they've been neglected for sooooooooo long. And on a different note I'd like to wish all my Jewish fans a Happy Rosh Hashanah. I know mine'll be terrible but while I'm listening to that long boring service I'll either be a) reading the manga that I snuck in or b) thinking about how to make this story better so that I don't go eight months between posts next time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King. If I did there would be a lot of changes. Such as the death of a certain blond X-laws member and the disembowelment of whoever dubbed the American version of Shaman King. But sadly I don't have that power. So I'll just have to settle for wishing and writing fanfiction.

Chapter 11: Phase 1

I was going to kill that bastard. How dare he think that he can seduce me and make an obedient little minion like the rest of his stupid followers! I was going to kick his ass so hard!

_No, wait,_ I thought. _That would be too easy. I have to make sure that he learns that I can't be controlled. _

I must have been a strange sight just sitting in my tent cackling away as I planned Hao's not so tragic demise. Even Taki was looking at me weird, not to mention the rest of the bastard's followers who just happened to pop in for this reason or that.

I finally found the solution: I would pretend to like Hao and then I'd get him. It was a brilliant plan. I had been working on a way to shield my thoughts from him so it was the perfect opportunity to test that out.

"Hao," I yelled the next morning. (If I had greeted him any other way he might have become suspicious.) "I need to talk to you in private, _now_."

He nodded slightly afraid of the menacing tone of my voice. We walked over to his tent and he held the tent flap open for me more out of fear then politeness. Then after I had entered the tent he followed me inside.

"So what is it that you need to talk to me about right this instant?" he asked with mild interest and a hint of fear.

"Look I don't do this very often so just shut up and listen before I change my mind and decide to clobber you instead," I threatened. He nodded intimidated but at the same time I could tell his curiosity was flaring up. "I have been thinking about that kiss despite how hard I try to stop."

"Well…um," he said nervously. I didn't even need to read his mind to tell that he had no idea how to handle this situation.

"Look, I just want to know what that kiss meant to you," I said in a normal tone of voice. The time I let my tough act fall for a second.

"I-I don't know," he mumbled. I picked up on his thoughts and found that he was trying to trick me. So I let him think it worked.

"Well do you want to find out?" I asked in a bossy tone that had a slightly soft edge to it. I leaned in and lightly touched my lips to his. He responded, instinctively kissing me back. He pulled me in deepening the kiss.

'Wow,' I thought. This time I let him hear this thought so he'd think his little plan was working. I was slightly scared though. I had genuinely liked that kiss and I was afraid that I might actually start to like him. Then I shook off those dangerous thoughts. There was no way in hell that I'd let him win.

I pushed him away. Acting as though his response had scared and surprised me too much.

"I-I have to go do this-this thing!" I said quickly and nervously. Like a girl afraid of falling in love with the one asshole she couldn't stand. And then I ran out of there.

I didn't stop running until I reached a rock in a secluded part of the woods a quarter mile away from our current campsite. I sensed Hao hiding in a nearby tree trying to decide whether or not to come out. Just like I wanted him to.

"What are you thinking?" I asked myself frustrated. "You can't like him. He's annoying, and self absorbed, and arrogant. He's doesn't have a single attractive personality trait."

I could feel Hao's smirk. He thought his plan was working perfectly. Good, he'd fall right into my trap no problem.

He left and I stayed on that rock for another half an hour before returning to camp acting as if nothing had happened. Hao acted unusually nice to me for the rest of the day. It was clear that he thought his little game was working. I inwardly smirked. Phase 1 was complete.


	12. Worth It

Mai: Wow it's been over a year since I've updated. Sorry but my plot bunny really has strayed from Shaman King. Sometimes I get a chapter of Close Enemies or Do You Remember Me out. I've completely given up on Unloved. Sorry. So there really is no guarantee about when or even if I update at all so don't hold your breathes.

Disclaimer: Don't own Shaman King. If I did I would never have let them make a crappy dub where the purely Chinese family all get British accents while the British guy sounds completely American. That's just messed up.

Chapter 12: Worth It

It had been a few days since I had started to avoid Horo-Horo. It was not going well. There were only so many times I could pretend someone was calling me. I just didn't know what to do.

I liked him but I wasn't sure if I liked him in that way. Even if I did like him I didn't know if I really wanted to get into a relationship now. I needed to focus on getting my sight back. And he was such a sweet guy. I really didn't want to hurt him.

It was ironic there was once a time when I would have given anything for a nice sweet guy to pay attention to me. Of course back then I wasn't blind. Everything was so different now.

I heard movement behind me. It was slowly and slightly clumsy. I relaxed whoever it was wasn't trying to sneak up and attack me.

"Who's there?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"It's me," Horo answered softly.

"Oh. Hi," I said feeling my face heat up. The words he had told Yoh were bouncing around in my head. I didn't know how to get over them and act normal around him anymore.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked.

"I'm not avoiding you," I lied. Of course I knew he'd see right through it but I just couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. I couldn't lie to myself anymore. I definitely liked him like that.

"Then how come every time I try to talk to you, you make an excuse to get away from me?" he said trying not to sound too accusatory. He really was a sweet guy. He wanted to make me feel comfortable so he was bottling up his frustration. But I could hear it in his voice.

"I-I just don't know what to say to you," I said quietly.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he walked over and sat down next to me.

"I heard what you said to Yoh and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like you, I really do, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for a relationship yet."

"Why not?"

"I just feel I need to concentrate on winning this tournament and getting my sight back. If I get too distracted I might not be able to reach my goal." It was surprising how easy it was to talk to him once I got started.

"I have a dream too. And a reason to want to win more then anything but I'm still willing to start this. I know that if you just give it we'd be able to work it out without distracting each other," he said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked uncertainly. I wanted to be with him but if I got distracted and lost my dream because of that I knew I'd regret it.

"What did Yoh tell you?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" I said taken aback by the sudden change in topic.

"I saw you talking to Yoh a few days ago. I assume you were talking about what you overheard. What did he tell you to do?"

"Well he said that I should think about how I felt and if I had feelings for you I should go for it," I told him. "He told me that love makes people stronger not weaker."

"Yoh's a smart guy," Horo commented. "If it's alright with you I think we should listen to him. He's never steered me wrong before."

I smiled and nodded slowly. I was done trying to tell myself I wasn't falling for this guy. I reached out a hand trying to find his face. He extended his hand and guided mine to his face.

I ran my fingers along his face. I could feel some stubble beginning to grow on his otherwise smooth skin. His ears were a little big but I kind of liked that. His hair was held back by a soft headband and as I ran my fingers through it I could feel a smooth spiky texture.

Then I ran my fingers over his lips they felt soft and inviting. He smiled when I touched them and I swear he could sense what I was thinking.

A second later his strong hand lifted mine away from his face. His other hand caressed my cheek leaving me mesmerized before he leaned in and our mouths met.

My eyes automatically fluttered closed even though it really made no difference to me. The kiss was tender, sweet and over much too quickly.

"Wow," I whispered as he pulled away.

"Yeah," he agreed breathless. His hand rested on top of mine and I slowly and carefully leaned over on his shoulder.

"I've never done that before," I murmured more to myself then to him.

"Kissed a guy? Well I've never kissed a girl. So I guess it's a first for both of us," he said happily.

"It was nice," I told him. "You're a good kisser."

"If you've never kissed a guy before how can you tell?" he asked confused.

"I just know," I said softly.

"Well I think you're a good kisser too," he replied.

"How can you tell?" I asked teasingly.

"I just can," he said. Then I felt his lips brush the top of my head affectionately. I smiled. It was nice to sit here like this with him. I never wanted to move. I couldn't remember ever feeling happier.


	13. A New Game

Mai: Yay I'm finally updating this. I was stuck for so long on this chapter. Switching back and forth from the two separate storylines in this fic is getting a little harder. I'm probably going to have to bring them together soon. Anyway I'm sorry I don't update that often but my plot bunny simply doesn't visit Shaman King that much anymore. I've got some other great fics that I've been working on but haven't posted yet. I'll probably post those soon so Naruto and Yu Yu Hakusho fans get excited. I'm also playing with ideas for Avatar and Bleach but nothing definite yet. Ok on with the show I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned Shaman King 4Kids would've never been able to look at it so much as get they're hands on it and give the characters accents that don't make any sense. Since they did get their hands on Shaman King I bet you can all tell that I don't own it (although I did like the theme song they made).

Chapter 13: A New Game

For the last thousand years or so I have tried to execute many plans. Most of them haven't worked out so well. In fact the two biggest ones both lead to my deaths.

After such a depressing streak of failure it was nice to have one potentially life risking plan go well; my seduction of Terra.

Well it wasn't like she was throwing herself at me and declaring her undying love or anything like that but she hadn't tried to kill me in over a week. And that was most definitely a good sign.

She also seemed to be avoiding me. Every time I got close to be alone with her she'd make a sudden excuse to leave. She also avoided eye contact and her face seemed a bit redder.

I wasn't an expert on women or anything but I was pretty sure that meant that she liked me and that she was confused about liking me. Now it was time to make my move and win once and for all.

I decided to wait until she had sent that jang-si of hers off on some errand. (I think it had something to do with Peyote owing her money. Poor guy.) This way if I did something wrong I wouldn't be immediately hunted down and killed.

She was sitting by herself at the edge of the campsite. As I approached I noticed she was reading something that looked like a letter in English. I didn't get a good look at it because a second later she realized I was behind her and quickly stuffed it out of sight. Probably wouldn't have made much of a difference my English was extremely rusty after 500 years of not using it.

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked her curiously. I even threw in a big friendly smile in the hopes her guard my lower just a little bit. It was killing me to act friendly towards her but then again the alternative was far more deadly.

"None of your business," she snapped angrily. This time however she didn't sound quite so scary as before. It was almost as if she just didn't care about me prying into her personal life anymore.

"Mind if I sit here?" I said not bothering to wait for a response before taking a seat on the ground next to her. "So Terra, that's not a Japanese name. Where're you from?"

She remained silent for a minute before saying, "America. Massachusetts near Boston. But you probably already knew that. Which begs the question why do you suddenly care?"

"True I do know quite a bit more about you then I let on. It's just that lately since we've stopped trying to kill each other every five seconds I've developed a fascination with you. Beneath all that anger and dark make up there might just be a beautiful girl who I'd like to get to know," I told her sincerely. Girls usually love that kind of stuff.

She looked down trying to hide the blush that was spreading across her face. Needless to say she was not doing a very good job of hiding her growing attraction to me. I smirked she was as good as mine at this point.

The funny part was I was actually starting to think that being with her wouldn't be so bad. She was actually quite pretty despite the dark clothing and make up she seemed to love so much and she was a good kisser. When she wasn't trying to kill me I actually found myself enjoying her company.

"And how many girls have been stupid enough to fall for that line?" she asked desperately trying to regain some control in this situation.

"I'm insulted that you think I'd give you a recycled line. When I come up with lines like that I make sure that each girl gets something original," I said in a mocking half angry tone.

"You're so full of shit," she said laughing and giving me a playful little shove. (Yes she actually laughed!)

"Ah yes but that's why everyone loves me," I told her grinning.

"I wouldn't say that. I mean just look at all the people out there who are trying to kill you. Like the X-laws, and the Asakuras."

"Jealous all of them. They all just wish they were half as handsome, charming, and powerful as I am," I said losing my flirtatious edge a little bit. I hadn't expected her to bring up the people that wanted me dead or anything about the Shaman Fight at all. I just expected her to flirt back in her odd insulting way.

Terra stood up and looked down at me a slight smile forming on her face just barely detectable but there nonetheless. "You want to take a walk?" she asked.

"Sure," I replied stunned. She'd never asked me anything like that before. Usually if she wanted me to go somewhere with her she demanded it of me. Yet another sign of her growing feelings for me.

We walked around for about half an hour talking and teasing one another pleasantly. Terra seemed like a completely different person. I wondered if this was the real her that she showed people once they got to know her a little bit.

Eventually we came to a spot overlooking one of the canyons that we seemed to pass by so frequently now (and partial landmarks that were helping me find Patch Village. The more canyons you pass the closer you are). They were breathtaking. Such beautiful gifts from nature.

"Did you ever see any of these before you came here for the Shaman Fight?" I asked Terra casually as we stood admiring the view.

"No, we don't have these back where I live and we never went to right places for vacation. I'd seen pictures of them but they were no where near as wonderful as the real thing."

"They're kind of romantic," I commented glancing over at her to see her reaction. A tiny blush spread over her face despite her obvious efforts to suppress it. She quickly looked down at her feet in the hopes of hiding it but it was already too late.

"Yeah, I guess," she muttered not taking her eyes off the ground. I grinned I had her right where I wanted her.

I slid my hand under her chin and turned her face upwards. I looked right into her eyes and said, "I don't know about you but personally I like it when people look at me while they're talking to me."

Then I bent down and gently caressed her lips with my own. She immediately reacted passionately kissing me back and pulling me closer to her. I barely noticed as when turned around a little to a more comfortable position. She even let me slip my tongue into her mouth.

When I finally pulled away she was smiling at me. I almost blushed. But being the almighty Hao Asakura I could control such reactions a lot better than she could (or so I thought).

The in one swift movement she let go of me and pushed me back. As I tumbled back I realized that when we had moved she deliberately brought me to the edge of the cliff.

It took a second for the shock to wear off. Once it did I was able to teleport myself back up to the top of the cliff just in time.

I chose to pop up right behind her. Terra was calmly standing there as if she hadn't just pushed someone off a cliff.

"If you want to kill me you're going to have to try a lot harder," I told her. I expected her to be surprised that I was still alive.

Instead she slowly turned around and said, "I know. That was just to let you know that I cannot be controlled so easily."

"I should have known. You were too nice, too shy. Of course it was all a trick. I knew you couldn't be won over so easily like all other sane women would be. I apologize for my mistake. I shall try harder in the future."

"WHAT!?" she exclaimed a look of pure shock covering her face. "Are you crazy? Do you actually think you can make me fall for you?"

"Well it won't be easy but I like a challenge. I've made up my mind I'm going to win you over one way or another. I want you and I always get what I want," I told her before disappearing in a column of flames.

When I got back to camp I sat down in my tent and started to formulate a plan. It'd be hard and I could possibly get killed. But where was the fun without a little risk?


End file.
